AJN"  ACT 

Relative  to  Prisoners  of  War. 

Section  1 .  The  Congress  of  the  Confederate  States  of  America  do  enact,  That  all  prisoners 
of  war  taken,  whether  on  land  or  at  sea,  during  the  pending  hostilities  with  the  United  States, 
shall  be  transferred  by  the  captors,  from  time  to  time  and  as  often  as  convenient,  to  the 
Department  of  War  ;  and  it  shall  be  the  duty  of  the  Secretary  of  War,  with  the  approval 
of  the  President,  to  issue  such  instructions  to  the  Quartermaster  General  and  his  subordi- 
nates as  shall  provide  for  the  safe  custody  and  sustenance  of  prisoners  of  war  ;  and  the 
rations  furnished  prisoners  of  war  shall  be  the  same  in  quantity  and  quality  as  those  furnished 
to  enlisted  men  in  the  army  of  the  Confederacy.       < 

Sec.  2.  Thai  the  eighth  section  of  the  act  entitled  "An  act  recognizing  the  existence 
of  war  between  the  United  States  and  the  CYmfederate  States,  and  concerning  Letters  of 
Marque,  Prizes  and  Prize  Goods,"  shall  not  be  so  construed  as  to  authorize  the  holding  as 
prisoners  of  war  the  officers  or  crew  of  any  unarmed  vessel,  nor  any  passenger  on  such 
vessels,  unless  such  passengers  be  persons  employed  in  the  public  service  of  the  enemy. 

Sec.  3.  That  the  tenth  section  of  the  above  recited  act  shall  not  be  so  construed  as  to 
allow  a  bounty  for  prisoners  captured  on  vessels  of  the  enemy  and  brought  into  port,  unless 
such  prisoners  were  captured  on  board  of  an  armed  ship  or  vessel  of  the  enemy  of  equal  or 
^superior  force  to  that  of  the  private  armed  vessel  making  the  capture. 

Approved  May  21,  1861. 


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